Darkness in his Heart
by Ace-Risk
Summary: Tai Lung was in line to be the next champion of the Valley of Peace. The future Dragon Warrior one would say. In this tale we will venture into the life of a young Snow Leopard who would one day become a prodigy in martial arts. We will also see how the prodigy's ambition led to a tragic downfall. Pre-KFP 1 headcanon with many questions answered. Chapter 1 out!


Darkness In His Heart

Written by: Ace_Risk

Chapter 1

The Scroll of Untold Power

The history of the art of Kung Fu is vast. As is the history of the Jade Palace where the art originated from. Throughout multiple generations, students and trainees came and went like dust in the wind, spanning from the greatest of Kung Fu legends, to those that opposed them. However, not every legend led the life of a hero.

No one is truly born evil nor are they born virtuous, it is the things one learns, the things we are taught, and the things we experience that shape us. One can be raised, trained, or taught to be a savior and a hero. However, one's destiny can change just as quickly as the love in one's heart can fade away. And it was this philosophy which led to one of the greatest legends in the entire history of martial arts, once a hero turned into one of the most ruthless villains in China's history. But a legend nonetheless.

'_One right high, two left high, three left low, four right high, five duck, six right low…'_ He thought to himself as he repelled and avoided the wooden arms which spun around quickly in different directions with every contact.

He had been at this particular exercise for just a bit short of half a day and yet he showed no signs of fatigue. In fact, he was so concentrated and focused that he didn't even notice the one watching him train from nearby. It wasn't until he heard someone clear their throat that he stopped what he was doing and saluted the figure with the Wushu greeting and a bow.

The figure returned the gesture and smiled, "I am rather surprised to see you up training this early Tai Lung, the gong will not ring for yet another half an hour."

"I apologize Master Shifu, I didn't realize I cannot train this early. It won't happen again-" The youthful Male Snow Leopard replied before being cut off.

"I never said you may not train at this time, in fact, I'm actually quite impressed to see your discipline is improving each day." Replied the middle aged Red Panda before he added, "As is your form and technique."

"Thank you Master Shifu!" The feline answered, his face full of pride and accomplishment as he again bowed to his master in respect.

Shifu smiled and nodded, "Now come, I think that is plenty of training for now. Plus, I would like to show you something."

Tai Lung nodded and proceeded to catch up with his Master as he began to walk out of the training hall. Though he secretly wished he could continue training and pushing his limits instead of going to see some lame Kung Fu artifact of which he had probably already heard of.

'_Still…__ That lantern with the blue flame is pretty cool…'_ He thought to himself as he followed his Master along towards the Hall of Heroes. But little did the boy know that what his Master would show him this day, would change his life, forever.

"Master Shifu? What is it you want to show me?" Asked the young Leopard eager to get this over with and resume his training.

The Red Panda looked back with smile, "I know you want to return to your training Tai Lung, but I believe this will be something worth seeing."

Just as Shifu said this, the two arrived at the entrance to the Hall of Warriors. The prestigious hallway which held the memories of fallen warriors, all of whom had once protected others using their own unique fighting styles. Tai Lung had been here multiple times, and though the artifacts here implored the interests of many, he found more enjoyment out of the idea of training. Not that these artifacts didn't interest him, in fact the Lantern of the eternal blue flame fascinated him, but at the moment he wished to continue his training to be the best martial artist in the world.

They walked by the notorious Master Flying Rhino's armor set and arrived a step before a deep water basin. All around the pool were thousands of dimly lit candles which were now all but useless as the sun was now illuminating the entire hallway. Still, they emitted a good fragrance as a result of the scented wax they ran off of. On the surface of the water itself lay many floating pink peach tree petals. Tai Lung wondered where such petals had come from, seeing as how it was a very low probability that each had somehow found their way through the wind to this one spot. However, after spending as long as he could remember at this Palace, and seeing some of the strangest things, he shrugged off the thought.

"Master, you've shown me the Moon Pool before." Tai Lung stated with a lack of enthusiasm as he stared into the flat liquid substance.

Shifu nodded, "Yes, however, you have failed to notice something that lies within the pool itself."

Tai Lung shook his head, "That's impossible Master, I have seen all there is to se-Wait… what is that?" He asked, having now noticed something he had overlooked before. A reflection of what resembled the massive statue located at the Dragon Grotto, only it was comprised entirely of gold.

Shifu smiled and replied while looking directly above, "That, Tai Lung, is the resting place of the Dragon Scroll."

Tai Lung now also feasted his eyes on the statue above, "The Dragon Scroll?" He asked.

Shifu nodded again, "Yes, the scroll said to contain the most powerful information of any other in the world."

"Are you serious? What information could it possibly hold that is so powerful?" Tai Lung asked as he continued to gaze upon the glistering statue.

Shifu gave a small chuckle, "I don't know. The only one who does, is Master Oogway. And it is up to him to one day award this scroll to an individual worthy of such knowledge. To one who will be called the _Dragon Warrior_."

Though his student was taller than he, Shifu placed his paw on Tai Lung's shoulder and smiled proudly, "I believe it is you who is destined for this greatness Tai Lung."

"Do you really believe I could achieve such an incredible feat, Master?" The Leopard asked, unsure of whether Shifu was simply filling him with hopes and dreams of an unrealistic goal.

Shifu, without even hesitating, nodded and replied, "Tai Lung… _'Great Dragon'_. That is what I named you when I found you at the doorstep to the Palace. There has never been a doubt in my mind since your training began that you were destined for this fate."

Tai Lung looked flattered beyond belief, it was one thing when his Master would complement his strives in his training, but this was different. Shifu truly believed in his heart that his student was the one chosen to inherit one of the most incredible powers in all the land.

"However, such a power is not merely gifted, my student. For only through hard work, dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice, will you be worthy of such a power." Shifu stated as he removed his paw from Tai Lung's shoulder.

"When do you think I will be worthy?" He asked as he looked back up at the relic.

Shifu shook his head, "I cannot say. Only Oogway will know when one is worthy. When that time comes, it will be up to you to show him that you are the one meant to read that scroll."

Tai Lung smiled with great confidence protruding from him. He now had a greater purpose in life, to become the sole person in the world to be declared the Dragon Warrior.

"I fear I have taken up enough of your training time as it is. You may now return to the training hall if you wish." Shifu stated while now looking into the reflection of the moon pool.

With that, the Leopard wasted no time in excusing himself from the Hall of Heroes and heading off to train some more. Not even paying attention to the Goose that passed him on his way out.

As he stared into the reflection, Shifu picked up on the sound of webbed feet scurrying towards him from behind. "What is it Zeng?" He asked impatiently before the Goose even had time to address him.

Though Zeng was surprised at the Red Panda's inherent reflexes, he was far too exhausted to question it. "It's the village! There are intruders!" He ranted while also trying to catch his breath.

"Intruders? What do they look like?" The Master asked in reply as he turned to face the bird who wore a now tainted black robe.

"There are three of them and the villagers claimed they look like Leopards! They're reeking havoc and terrorizing the villagers!" The young Goose stated through whimpers, clearly showing his lack of bravery.

"Oh for heaven's sake Zeng, grow a backbone! I will take care of the problem." Shifu stated as he rushed on past the fearful avian and out of the Hall of Heroes.

"Wait! Master Shifu! I didn't tell you where in the village they are!" Zeng shouted in response but was far too late as the Red Panda was already out of earshot and on his way.

Zeng shook his head in frustration as he thought to himself, _'These Kung Fu Masters are weird… Why did I apply here…'_

"He has no idea where he is going, does he?" Asked a new voice from nearby.

Startled half to death, Zeng jumped and looked to his side to notice Master Oogway who he had not seen earlier.

* * *

Only a moment later Master Shifu reached the entrance to the village where upon first glance he now saw nothing noticeably wrong. "Way to tell me where they were in the village Zeng…" He said to himself as he sighed and shrugged.

Seeing no problems here, he progressed farther into the village towards the market district only to find what he was looking for. Villagers fleeing in all directions in panic, scattered wicker boxes with emptied contents littering the streets. And right at the center of everything, three young Leopards, female, and no older than 10 years of age each of which wore similar outfits.

"These are the intruders?" He asked himself skeptically, not believing that children such as these could stir up so much trouble.

However, not a second later, the three Leopards began to join each of their tails and then began to twirl around at an impressive velocity resembling a tornado of sorts. So fast that the tips of their claws were cutting through merchant stands and tapestries all throughout the market district.

"That has to be the most absurd technique I have ever seen…" He said to himself as he ran up to stop the three from causing more chaos and disruption.

However, with the risk of being slashed into smithereens, getting closer was no easy endeavor. He slowed down once he reached the spinning felines and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike and break their connection.

But before he could even plan out a method of attack, the connection of the three Leopards was broken, and they each went flying in different directions into walls of nearby buildings. Shifu was dumbstruck and did not know what to do.

"Damnit Wing! You broke the vortex!" Shouted a youthful feline voice which to Shifu sounded female.

"I'm sorry Su! We were spinning too quickly and I couldn't hold on any longer!" Another shyly replied as they looked away in disgust with themselves.

"Wan! You weren't destroying anything with your claws! How are we supposed to become the most ruthless villains in China if we can't even master a rudimentary technique!?"

'_Rudimentary technique? Just who is this young woman?'_ Shifu pondered as he got a better look at the eldest Leopardess who happened to be siblings with the other two.

And upon getting a closer look, he saw something familiar about the eldest one. She appeared to have two different eye colors, one of bright yellow the same as her two sisters, however, the other was strangely aquamarine.

While she scolded her sisters, the eldest sister spotted something in her peripheral vision, someone. She wasn't expecting anyone to still be in the near area, but it seemed some don't scare as easily as others. She turned around and looked directly at the Red Panda who was just slightly smaller than herself, but despite what he lacked in height, he looked at least five times her age.

'_The resemblance is uncanny…'_ Shifu thought to himself as the eldest sister stared him down.

"You three! You're the daughters of Lán Yan Jīng Wu aren't you!?" Shifu asked with a raised voice, mostly directing the question to the Leopardess with the blue eye.

The Leopardess looked surprised if anything, but then quickly attempted to hide her emotion, "You must be Master Shifu of the Jade Palace! Rise sisters, we have a new target!" She ordered with a bitter tone.

The two others then joined the eldest and they each prepared to perform their technique of which they had attempted before. They linked tails and immediately flung each other around, their vortex sounding like nails scratching a chalkboard while slashing their claws with every rotation and cutting anything in their path.

Shifu knew that this attack would surely be lethal to him, he could not afford to make a mistake, However, from what he had observed earlier there was an obvious weakness he could exploit, it was the lack of experience the sisters had at performing the technique. He simply had to run the sisters out of stamina, and from there he would individually incapacitate each.

He narrowly avoided the razor sharp edge of the vortex multiple times before managing to break away and make some distance between himself and the deadly spinner. Before long, his plan began to work, and he could notice the speed of the spinning felines was slowing. And not a moment later, the sisters were broken apart once again with each landing in a different spot in the market district square.

Shifu took this opportunity and quickly paralyzed the two nearest Leopardess' with a standard disabling pressure point technique. He then approached the last standing Leopardess who scowled at him with a growl escaping her sharp feline teeth.

Shifu shook his head in disappointment, "Your collaboration skills need work, and your technique is absolutely absurd." He stated plainly and without much emotion.

The eldest sister wanted so badly to show this Red Panda what for, but she knew that no matter the circumstance, she would loose that fight without the aid of her sisters. And like it or not, the Master had a point, for if this defeat showed anything it was that her and her sisters had much to learn.

"So what are you going to do then? Give us prison for life just like our father!?" She demanded angrily.

Shifu thought for a moment of what to do with the three apprehended Leopardess', ethically speaking they were far too young to be sent to prison, however, he also knew that they would likely become a problem in the future. They were following in the paw steps of one of the former most notorious criminals of the country Lán Yan Jīng Wu, their own blood relative.

"No. None of you will be going to prison today." Shifu stated plainly, and then continued shortly after, "I will allow you all one chance to give up this life of villainy. If you leave this village and never return, then all is well. But if you decide to return and wreak havoc on the Valley of Peace then I will be forced to send you all to jail."

The Leopardess was unwilling to stand down and allow someone else to dictate her choices, but seeing as how her and her sisters would otherwise go to prison, she restrained herself and nodded in defeat.

Shifu obliged and undid the effect of his nerve attack on the other two Leopardess' and then pointed toward the exit of the valley, "Now begone, and don't even think of returning." He stated seriously with a stern expression.

Though they were hesitant, the sisters had no other option but to submit to the Master's demands and retreat from the Valley. They each gave Shifu hateful snarky looks and then each ran toward the outskirt of the village where they fled in the direction of Hubei Volcano.

When out of the village, Wing asked the eldest Leopardess, "Sister, why did we not finish the fight! Isn't it cowardly to retreat?"

Su scowled in irritation at the question, sure her sister had a point, but she knew that realistically they were no match for a fully fledged Master of martial arts. "Yes, but it also would have been foolish to stay and try to beat him when we can't even master our own technique yet." She answered factually as they kept up their pace towards the fiery mountain.

Wan then chimed in, "Sister, we must exact our revenge on those Jade Palace Masters! It's because of them that we will never see Father again!"

Su nodded, "We will have our revenge Wan, in time. But first we must find what Shifu cares for most. From there we can break him from the inside." She replied with a confident and devious smirk now occupying her face.

* * *

Tai Lung waited patiently at the bottom of the thousand steps for Master Shifu to return. When he had been informed by Master Oogway that his Master had gone to defend the valley from intruders he wished to help in any way he could. It wasn't that he did not have faith Shifu would prevail, more out of pure boredom and lust for experience.

Oogway however, did not appreciate the idea of sending a mere child into a potentially dangerous situation. (Ironic since he allowed Tigress to fight Boar alone…) And thus he gave the Leopard something else to occupy the student's time, one of the thousand scrolls of Kung Fu.

He sat on the first step with the scroll unrolled as he poured through it's valuable knowledge. Normally most children of Tai Lung's age would not be able to read a scroll of the complexity this one was, much less read it at the pace he did. However, if his heritage and past meant anything, it was that Tai Lung was hardly a normal child.

He was presently learning about a technique called the "Wuxi Finger Hold", a technique that was said to have been invented by Master Wuxi of the third dynasty. "A staple to the Red Panda style of Kung Fu and a powerful Chi based move, the Wuxi Finger Hold affects the opponent's Chi so greatly that the victim is sent to the spirit realm of existence." He read quietly to himself with an enlightened expression.

'_This move sounds crazy powerful, I wonder if Shifu will teach me. He has to know it, doesn't he?'_ The Leopard asked himself as he finished reading the final section of the scroll.

His thoughts then took him back to the morning when his Master had shown him another scroll, but this one possibly containing limitless power. He wondered how hard he would have to work for it to be awarded to him, and how long he would have to train. Not only that, but he also wondered what sort of power the Dragon Scroll would even contain, was it knowledge to a secret technique? Or was it something else?

"Are you waiting for someone, my young student?" A voice asked, snapping the Leopard out of his thought process and back to reality.

He looked up from the coiled paper and saw his Master staring at him with his small arms folded. "Oh yes, I was waiting for you Master. I was told by Master Oogway that you were defending the valley from some bandits and I wanted to come and help you, but he told me I had to stay back because it was too dangerous for me…" He answered sounding disappointed.

Shifu smiled, "The Wuxi Finger Hold? This is what you've been doing in my absence? Reading one of the thousand scrolls of Kung Fu?" He asked as he took the scroll from his student's paws and examined it.

Tai Lung nodded, "Could you teach it to me someday?" He asked as he now stood up and faced his Master.

"Someday, my student." Shifu answered as he rubbed the fur on top of Tai Lung's forehead out of pride. "Though if you are truly interested in Chi based techniques, I would recommend the scroll of the three finger nerve attack." He continued as he removed his paw and handed back the scroll to his pupil.

"Thank you Master." The Leopard replied as he again gave his Master the Wushu greeting and a bow.

Shifu nodded, "Now come Tai Lung, part of defending the Valley is to help clean up the mess the villains leave behind."

And with that, the two went off on their way towards the market district to help the villagers to rebuild the damage that was done.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this soon to be 10 chapter short story! As you can probably guess by now, this story is primarily dedicated to the rise and fall of our favorite angry Snow Leopard Tai Lung. I felt that Master Tigress' short explanation/flashback in the first movie didn't provide enough insight as to why someone would destroy an entire village just to get their way after being denied. **

**As well as explaining his fall from greatness, I will also include some easter eggs and some other hints from the Kung Fu Panda lore. Unlike many of my other fanfictions, I will not be including mature themes and anything that is NSFW (Not safe for work).**

**As for this chapter, some readers may be confused as to who Lán Yan Jīng Wu was. In my headcannon he is the father of the Wu sisters and a notorious criminal who was sentenced to life prison by Shifu himself. His name Lán Yan Jīng means 'Eye of Blue' in simplified Chinese.**

**If you enjoyed this chapter and would like to see more of this story then make sure you favorite and follow to stay informed on future updates.**

**Also, review to let me know your thoughts and ideas as for how I can improve or make changes for future chapters.**

**Peace out,**

**-Ace_Risk**


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